Influence of Organic Weed Control Strategies on Profitability and Cost–Benefit Ratio of Urdbean

Abstract

Background: Urdbean (Vigna mungo L.) is an important pulse crop in India and a vital source of dietary protein in vegetarian diets. However, severe weed competition during the early growth stages significantly reduces yield, necessitating effective and sustainable weed management strategies, particularly under organic farming systems. Aims: The study aimed to assess the influence of various organic weed management practices on cost of cultivation, gross returns, net returns, and benefit–cost ratio of urdbean, and to determine the most economically viable weed management practice for sustainable production. Study Design: RCBD(Randomized complete block design). Place and Duration of Study: Research Institute of Organic Farming (RIOF) field unit, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru during Rabi season of 2025. Methodology: The experiment is having twelve treatments viz., T1: Inter cultivation at 25 DAS+1 hand weeding at 45 DAS, T2: Stale seed bed technique + inter cultivation twice at 25 & 45 DAS, T3: Straw mulching 5 t ha-1 at 10-15 DAS, T4: Black gram+ fodder cowpea as an intercrop (multi-cut) + 1 inter cultivation at 40 DAS, T5: Black gram+ fodder cowpea as smothering crop in between rows of black gram, T6: Black gram + fodder cowpea as an intercrop with in-situ incorporation on 35 DAS + 1 inter cultivation at 40 DAS, T7: Mechanical (cycle weeder) weeding at 35 DAS, T8: Two mechanical weeding at 20 and 40 DAS, T9: Cucumber leaf extract 100ml l-1 @ 2-4 leaf stage, T10: Ageratum conyzoides leaf extract 100ml l-1 @ 2-4 leaf stage, T11: Hand weeding at 20 & 40 DAS and T12: Un weeded check with three replications. Results: The results indicated that the treatment receiving hand weeding at 20 & 40 DAS (T11) recorded significantly higher cost for weed control, cost of cultivation and gross returns (8250, 21625 and 45150 Rs. ha-1, respectively) followed by stale seed bed technique + inter cultivation twice at 25 & 45 DAS (4500, 17875 and 43573 Rs. ha-1, respectively ). Whereas, significantly higher net returns and benefit cost ratio was found in the treatment receiving stale seed bed technique + inter cultivation twice at 25 & 45 DAS (25698 Rs. ha-1 and 2.44, respectively). Conclusion: Hand weeding at 20 and 40 DAS resulted in the highest gross returns but was not the most economically efficient due to increased cultivation costs. In contrast, the stale seedbed technique combined with inter-cultivation at 25 and 45 DAS achieved superior net returns and the highest benefit–cost ratio. Therefore, this integrated approach can be considered the most economically sustainable organic weed management strategy for urdbean cultivation.